ISLAMABAD Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry took a suo motu notice on Thursday of the issuing of fresh summons by a Rawalpindi Accountability Court for ageing PPP chairperson Begum Nusrat Bhutto who is facing corruption charges in the Cotecna pre-shipment inspection reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau. The accountability court had issued the summons after rejecting NAB's request to exempt the ailing mother of slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto from personal appearance.
The matter is likely to be taken up by a bench headed by the chief justice on Friday.
While declaring the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance as illegal, the Supreme Court had created a monitoring cell in the apex court and had asked NAB officials to present periodical reports about actions taken by them. The action was taken at the request of the monitoring cell, a source told Dawn.
Meanwhile, Dr Mohammad Aslam Khaki moved a Shariat petition before the Supreme Court challenging a judgment of the Federal Shariat Court that dismissed his petition seeking the record of information about the trustees of the “People's Foundation” (Trust), a public benevolent and charitable trust.
Former Prime Minister Zulfifikar Ali Bhutto had constituted the trust through the Trust Deed of Aug 9, 1974, with Begum Nusrat Bhutto, late Murtaza Bhutto and Ms Benazir Bhutto as trustees.
The objective of the trust was to establish a press and similar ventures for spreading information in Pakistan and elsewhere, to print and publish journals, magazines, periodicals and newspapers, to extend aid to institutions which in the opinion of trustees are engaged in imparting, spreading and promoting learning and to establish institutions and contribute to their maintenance and to give aid to individuals and institutions.
The trustees have the power under the deed to accept donations from institutions and government organisations.
